SFY vs CommBoards
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
SFY
Experience the full capabilities of an advanced Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) app for 30 days. This trial allows users to explore extensive vocabulary, programming options, and helpful features to assess communication improvement before committing to the full version.
- 30-day free trial
- Full vocabulary access (~5000 words)
- Full programming capabilities
- Search and history features
- Hold That Thought feature
- Voice options
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IMPORTANT NOTE: THIS IS NOT A SUBSCRIPTION! AFTER THE 30 DAYS, IT JUST STOPS WORKING. You don't have to cancel it...YOU AREN'T GOING TO BE CHARGED. If Speak for Yourself is the right choice, purchase the full version! It’s FINALLY here! This is the answer to everyone who has been hesitant to purchase the full version of Speak for Yourself without being able to try it. SFY-Lite 2.0 (and above) gives you access to the full Speak for Yourself app capabilities* for a 30 day FREE trial! SfY-Lite includes access to the almost 5000 word vocabulary, full programming capabilities, the unparalleled search feature, history feature, Hold That Thought, and voice options. By doing this, AAC users, SLPs, other professionals, and family members are able to use the intuitive programming and features of Speak for Yourself and access the library of almost 11,000 Smarty Symbols®. SFY-Lite is not intended to be an individual's permanent AAC language system. It was designed to determine if an individual is able to access the button size, activate the buttons, and use Speak for Yourself to improve communication. The free trial will only last for 30 days. After the 30 days, it will go back to the static main screen where it started. HOWEVER, you will be able to access your history data and your vocabulary file, even after the trial ends. That means that any of your programming and customization will be saved so that you can transfer it into the full version. Speak for Yourself was designed by two ASHA-certified speech-language pathologists (SLPs) with an extensive knowledge of AAC devices and implementation. We're very excited to give EVERYONE the ability to have the full functionality of Speak for Yourself in their hands and homes for free! You have nothing to lose and every reason to take 30 days and give it a try. With the release of a new and improved SFY-Lite, we invite you to join us in our mission to change the world...one voice at a time. *The only features that are not available in SfY-Lite are Acapela premium voice offered in the full version as in-app purchases and multi-user capabilities (the full version can hold 40 different user vocabulary files).
CommBoards
This communication app helps individuals with speech challenges express themselves using personalized boards. Users can upload personal images and record messages in familiar voices, creating an unlimited number of customizable communication boards. It's designed for individuals, therapists, and educators.
- Personalized image uploads
- Record messages in familiar voices
- Create unlimited communication boards
- Customizable button sizes, layouts, and colors
- User-friendly interface
- Suitable for individuals, therapists, and educators
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Give your nonverbal child a voice. CommBoards turns taps on pictures into spoken sentences: "I want an apple," "my stomach hurts," "I love you, mom." No more guessing what they need. READY IN MINUTES • Ready-made boards for food, drinks, feelings, body, people, places and more • Tap pictures to build a full sentence, then hear it spoken out loud • Simple enough for a first-time AAC user MADE FOR YOUR CHILD • Record mom's, dad's or a sibling's voice on any button • Add your own photos of favorite foods, toys and family • Change any word, picture or color • Grows with your child, from 2 to 11 buttons per row BUILT FOR EVERYDAY LIFE • Works offline, at home, at school and on the go • 15+ languages • Save favorite sentences as quick phrases • iPhone and iPad WHO IT'S FOR Children and adults with autism (ASD), apraxia of speech, Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, speech delay, aphasia and stroke recovery. Used by parents, teachers and speech-language pathologists. Helping families communicate for over 10 years. Start your free trial today. Terms of use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: CommBoards at every 4 days against SFY's every 52 months. SFY's advantage is review sentiment (58% vs 33%). On price, rating, ratings volume and ads there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. SFY sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and CommBoards sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
CommBoards holds the better App Store score, 4.3 against 4.2. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 151 and 96 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 58% of SFY's written reviews are positive against 33% of CommBoards's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
SFY ships an update every 52 months, CommBoards every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on October 22, 2026 and October 23, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | SFY | CommBoards |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.2 (151 ratings) | 4.3 (96 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 58.3% of reviews — better | 33.3% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 151 — better | 96 |
| Update frequency | Every 52 months | Every 4 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 | 15.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 1.4 GB | 38 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Speak for Yourself LLC | Dana Fridman |
Customer experience
SFY
CommBoards
In-app purchases
SFY
- 30-day TrialFree
CommBoards
- Monthly7 Days trial$9.991 Month
- Annual7 Days trial$79.991 Year
- Lifetime access$99.99








